Building construction



y 19332- J. H. YOUNG BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed April 50, 1932 4Sheets-Sheet 2 July 12, 1932. I J H YOUNG 1 8(57 41-33 BUILDINGCONSTRUCTION Filed April 30, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 V .994 hm j July 12,1932. J H. YOUNG 11,867,433

. BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed April 50, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 I V MPatented July 12, 1932' 1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JAMES HOWARDYOUNG, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO I. H.

ROBERTSON COMPANY OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF 'PENN-SYLVANIA BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Application filed April 30, 1932. SerialNo. 608,487.

'This invention relates to a building construction and to a flooring forbuildings.

This application constitutes a continuation in part of my applicationSerial No. 5 524,813, filed March 24, 1931.

The invention has for one of its objects to reduce the cost of abuilding of the character of a steel frame building, a bridge, or

other building structure, and to enable it to be erected in a minimumtime while complying with the requirements of the bu1ldmg authorities.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel cellular metalflooring characat the end of this specification.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a portion of one floor of a building embodyingthis invention' Fig. 2, a perspective of a portion of the floor shown inFig. 1 on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 3, a. detail on an'enlarged scale, showing an outside sheet metalunit extended over a side metal member of a floor panel;

Fig. 4, a perspective of an intermediate floor unit broken away andillustrating one method of suspending the metal frame for a ceiling;

Fig. 5, a detail in cross section to illustrate the interlocking of theupper sheet metal members of adjacent units;

Figs. 6 and 7 details showing a modified way of supporting the floorunit;

Figs. 8 and 9, details of modified forms of sheet metal units, and

terized by its lightness and strength and scribed and particularlvdefined in the claims Fig. 10, a detail illustrating a further modifiedform of floor unit and method of sup-' porting the same. The presentinvention contemplates a novel metal floor which is characterizedarticularly by its lightness and remarkab e strength and by the factthat it is capable of production within such limits of cost as to renderits use commercially possible in the construction of the floors ofoifice buildings, bridges, and other modern structures. Accordingly,

the invention contemplates a cellular metal floor having a. plurality ofhollow cells, preferably closed in cross section and the walls of whichform load-supporting beams capable of sustaining floor loads when theflooring is placed upon standard floor spans. It is preferred toconstruct a floor embodying the present invention by assembling'aplurality of prefabricated units, each unit havin a plurality of hollowcells, preferably clos in cross section and the walls of which form theload-supporting beams above referred to, and the units are preferablyassembled side by side and end to end to form the floor. The hollowcells may and preferably will be unobstructed to impart maximumpotential electrical flexibility to the erected floor.

In producing either the present floor or the present prefabricated,flooring unit, I have found that the desired lightness, the necessarystrength to sustain required floor loads when the flooring is placedupon standard floorspans together with the economy in metal necessary toenable the floor to be pro-- duced and used commercially, may beobtained by correlating the size ofthe hollow cells forming theload-supporting beams with various corrugated sheet metal roofing unitsheretofore proposed is only a small fraction of the minimum value whichI regard as necessary for the production of a practical and commercialcellular metal floor.

- beams either by a continuous weld or by intermittent welds placed sothat the maximum s acing between welds bears a definite rela tion to thethickness of the metal. r

As above stated, the drawings illustrate a portion of a building such asan 'ofiice building or other steel framed structure in which theframework is arranged toform panels or openings at the difierent floorsof the building, and the present metal flooring is erected upon saidframework and arranged to cover said panels. Referring now to thedrawings, a represents a building, such, for instance, as an officebuilding, which is provided with a. steel framework consisting of steelupright mem bers or columns 10 and horizontal steel mem-- bers usuallygirders 12 and beams 13. The girders 12 and beams'13 form panels or open"ings at each floor of the building, and for convenience andsimplification only four complete panels 14 of a floor in the buildingare shown in Fig. 1, one of the panels being uncovered. a

In Fig. 1, the longitudinal girders 12 form the side members of thepanels 14, and the cross girders 12 and the intermediate beams 13connecting the longitudinal girders 12 form the end members ofthe-panels 14.

Each panel 14 has co-operating'with it a sheet metal flooring, which iscomposed of a plurality of units capable of being fabricated in theshop, transported to the job and laid in place. Each floor unitcomprises a sheet metal upper member 18 and a corrugated sheet metalunder member 19, which is spot welded or otherwise secured to theunderside of the uppersheet metal member 18. The welds are representedin Figs. 3, 5, and 6 at 20, 21. The

a under sheet metal member 19 is preferably provided with substantiallyV-beam corrugations which may be ofvarying depths according to the floorload to be carried, and

- the upper sheet metal member 18 is preferably made to present asubstantially flat upper surface and co-operates with the uppercorrugations to close the same and provide the 'floor unit withsubstantially closed air spaces 22.

The sheet metal members 18, 19 of the units are made substantially longand of a length substantially equal to the length of the panel, andpreferably of such length as to permit the corrugated under member 19 torest upon and be supported by the metal end members of the panel, andthe sheet metal upper member 18 co-operates with the corrugated sheetmetal under member 19 to forma floor unit or section of suflicientstrength and load-car rying capacity to enable the panels to be made ofmaterial length and thereby-diminish the number of cross beams or metalmembers 13 employed in the floors of the building, thereby efiecting amaterial saving in the amount of metal in the framework and in the costof erecting" the same.

The upper and lower members 18, 19 may be made of substantially the samelength and arranged with relation to each other and welded in fixedrelation, so that one end of the upper member 18 projects beyond thecorrugated under member 19 to leave the opposite end of the under member19 uncovered by the upper member 18 (see Figs. 1, 2 and 4), whereby thecorrugated under member 19 of the floor units of adjacent panels mayabut on the common end member 13 of said panels and have the uppermember 18 of adjacent floor units project beyond said common endinterlock with one another and with the outside units. To this end, theupper member 18 of the intermediate unit is provided on one side-with astraight depending flange 24 and on itsopposite side with a dependingflange 25 having a channel 26 into which the straight flange 24 of anadjacent unit is extended, after the manner represented in Figs. 1 and5.

The outside floor units are provided on their inner side with theappropriate flange, either straight or channeled, to enable the outsideunits to interlock with the flanges of the ad'- jacent intermediateunits.

The'floor units may be supported bythe lower corrugated members 19resting on the end metal members of the panels after the mannerrepresented in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, in which case the upper member 18 ofthe outside units may extend over the side members of the panels and beseparated therefrom, or if desired the sheet metal units .may besupported by the framework with the corrugated under sheet 19 locatedwithin the panels as represented in Figs. 6, 7 and 1O.

In Figs. 6 and 7, the floor units are supported by angle pieces 29secured to the metal framework within the panel and upon whic thecorrugated under members 19 rest, or said floor units may be locatedwithin the panel and be supported by the end members of the panel uponwhich rest the ends of the may be provided with a suitable reinforcement44*when required as represented in Fig. 10.

When the fioor units are required to carry heavy loads it is preferredto have the corrugated under member 19 rest upon the framework.

The sheet metal units when laid in place are designed to have theirsides in contact or in close proximity to one another and when thuspositioned the upper metal sheets of con-' tiguous units may be spotwelded together, as represented by the heavy black lines 31 111 Figs. 1and 2, so as to provlde the panel with a sheet metal flooring havingaunitary upper sheet metal member of substantially the area of thepanel, and having attached to its under side a plurality of groups ofindependent or separate corrugated sheet metal loadsupporting memberswhich extend lengthwise of the panel for substantially the lengththereof substantially parallel with one another, each of said groupsforming part ofan individual unit and being secured to the sheet metalmember thereof.

It will be observed that the welding of the upper sheet metal members 18of the floor units in a panel may be effected by a workman standing onthe sheet metal floor.

In the preferred construction illustrated in Fig. 1, wherein the ends ofthe upper sheet metal members of the floor units of adjacent panelsproject beyond the common end member 13 of said panels in line with eachother, saidprojecting ends may be spot welded to the ends of the uppersheet metal members of the covered panel, as indicated by the heavyblack lines 32 in Fig. 2, and in this manner a plurality of panels areprovided with a sheet metal flooring having a unitary sheete metal uppermember which extends the length of the plurality of panels in line witheach other, and has secured to it a plurality of corrugatedload-supporting sheet metal members 19 for each of the said panels.- Theoutside walls 34 of the building as well as the interior partitions 35may be of any usual or suitable construction. I

From the above description, it will .be observed that a steel framebuilding may be erected at a minmium cost and in a minimum time, becausethe sheet metal floor units may be made in the shop of a length equal tothe length of the panel formed by the steel framework, and of a strengthsufficient to support the required or desired load, which strength maybe varied to meet different load conditions by using substantiallyV-beam supporting members of the proper gauge. of metal and depth ofcorrugation, which units may be transported to the job and laid inposition, so that each panel may be provided with a sheet metal floor ofsubstantially the areaof the panel and composed of sections which areinitially mechanically interlocked to hold them in place so as to permitthe sheetrmetal floor to support workmen and apparatus if desired, andwhich may be permanently connected together by welding the sheet metalupper members together, by workmen supported by the upper members of thefloor.

It will also be observed that the flooring units may, as illustrated inthe drawings, be

mounted upon the panel in a manner such that the corrugations ofaligning units co-* operate to form continuous substantiallyunobstructed conduits from one part of the building to the other, whichenables the fioor to possess maximum potential electrical flexibility.The multiplicity of conduits thus formed affords maximum flexibility inwiring for any kind of electric service, and enables electricalapparatus to be positioned most advantageously and the connections to bemade thereto in a most simple, economical andpractical manner.

Furthermore, the upper sheet metal members of panels in line with eachother may be welded together so as to provide a unitary sheet metalfloorwhich covers a plurality of bays and may extend the length of thebuilding and which is provided with a plurality The suspending wires 38may be attached to the uncovered portions of the corrugated lower member19, by providing the latter with holes 40 in the side walls of thecorrugations through which the wires 38 may be passed.

The upper metal member 18 of each floor unit may be provided with anunbroken fiat upper surface as shown in Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive, or itmay be provided with substantia'lly narrow depressions 42 and yet haveits upper surface substantially flat to support the workmen, as shown inFigs. 8 and 9.

In practice, in the construction of modern buildings and particularlymodern steelframed buildings such as oflice buildings and the like, thefloor spans encountered vary from six to twenty-two feet. The floorloads usually encountered in such building constructlon vary from poundsper square foot up to 700 pounds per squarp foot.

As previously stated I have found that in order to enable the presentflooring to be utilized as a commercial floor the size of the hollowcells forming the load-supporting beams, the thickness of the wallsthereof, and

the spacing between the cells should be correlated to impart to thefloor structure a section modulus of at least 1.0 inches per foot width.The section modulus is to be figured on individual cells as beams, thecells to be construed as including one half the web member on eitherside of same. The section mod-- ulus figure for one foot width of flooris arrived at by multiplying the section modulus of a single cell by thenumber of cellsper foot width of floor. In practice I have found thatthe spacing indicated in Figs. v8 and 9 as the dimension S betweenadjacent beams should be less than substantially twice and preferablyless than the depth of the beams.

I-have also found that the minimum thickness of the sheet steel withwhich it is practicable to produce the present flooring should bethatcorresponding to 18 U. S. standard gauge for sheet and plate ironand steel and which is 0.05inch.

I have found that the length of the side walls of the deepestcorrugations in either of the upper or lower metal members 18, 19.

forming the present flooring unit, and which 'is indicated in thedrawings in Figs. 8 and 9 19 welded together, it is desirable that theparts be welded together either by a continuous weld, or if weldedintermittently as by spot welding as illustrated in Fig. 4, I have foundthat it is desirable that the distance D between the welds should beless than 7 0 times the thickness of the sheet steel being welded.

For example, if 18 gauge sheet steel is used, then the distance Dbetween the welds should be less than 70 times 0.05 or 3.5 inches If thedistance between welds exceeds this rela-, extending over asupportingbeam and tion, then a tendency exists for the structure to bucklebetween the welds when subjected to floor loads.

As illustrative of the unusual load-carrying capacity of a floorembodying the present invention and of the remarkable strength comparedto its weight, the following data is furnished for a commercial form ofthe present flooring unit, and in which the individual cells are shapedas illustrated in Fig. 8, in which the width of the unit is-24 inchesand is made up of four cells connected together to form the unit, inwhich the cells are arranged on six inch centers and are of a total celldepth of five and three-quarters inches, being spaced-apart by webmembers one and seven-eighths inches in width and in which the depth ofthe corrugation of the lower member is four and eleven-thirty-secondsinches, and in which both members of the unit are made of 16 gauge sheetsteel. The cells are symmetrically arranged with respect .to the sideedges of the unit. Such a floor unit has a section modulus greater than1.0 inches per foot width of -unit and which fromexperimental data hasbeen determined A to be 3.06 inches per foot width of unit.

Weight in pounds per square foot 9.50

Span in feet The term section modulus as used herem is intended to referto the lesser-section modulus of the flooring in either vtension orcompression.

By the use of the term structurally closed in cross section as employedin the claims I intend to define a cell which has the functionalcharacteristics of an integral cell.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been hereinillustrated and described,*it will be understood that the invention maybe embodied in other forms within the scope'of the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what 4 is claimed is: v v 1. Thecombination with a frame work provided with beams and arranged to formfloor panels, of a metal flooring covering said panels, said flooringcomprising a plurality of prefabricated units, each unit having aplurality of hollow cells structurally closed in cross section andforming cooperating load supporting beams and with a plurality of saidunits arranged end to end with a plurality of said hollow cells inalignment and .end over a floor supporting beam and cooperating withother-units to form the flooring, said unit comprising an upper and alower corrugated sheet having corrugations extending substantially thelength of said sheets and secured together with the lower corrugationsof the upper sheet opposed to and forming-extensions of the uppercorrugations of the lower sheet, the corrugations of said units beingadapted to form substantially unobstructed aligned ducts extending oversaid beams, andsaid ducts being structurally closed in cross section.

3. A portable prefabricated flooring unit comprising a multi-cellularmetallic flooring unit, having a plurality of hollow cells, structurallyclosed in cross section and spaced apart a distance not over twice thedepth of the cells, and forming cooperating hollow beams capable ofresisting within themselves all of the normal load stresses to which thefloor is subjected, the depth of said cells being at least three inches,the width, depth, lateral spacing, and thickness of the walls of saidbeams being correlated to impart to the structure a section modulus ofat least 1.0 inches per foot width.

4. A metal flooring for a building comprising a multi-cellular metallicflooring having a plurality of hollow cells structurally closed in crosssection, the depth of said cells being at least three inches and formingcooperating hollow load supportingbeams capable of resisting withinthemselves-all of the normal load stresses to which the floor issubjected, the metal comprising the cellular flooring being at'least asheavy as 18 gauge sheet steel and said hollow beams being spaced fromone another a distance not exceeding the depth of the beams.

5. The combination with a framework provided with beams and arranged toform floor panels of a metal flooring covering said panels, saidflooring comprising a plurality of prefabricated units, each unit havinga plurality of hollow cells structurall closed in cross section andbeing at least t ree inches in depth and forming cooperating loadsupporting beams and with a plurality of said units arranged end to endand side by side, and said units being connected together at their sidesby welding, whereby concentrated loads are distributed over Wide areasof the floor, the metal comprising the cellular flooring being at leastas heavy as 18 gauge sheet steel and the length of the side walls of thecells being less than times the thickness thereof, and the structurehaving a section modulus of at least 1.0 inches per footwidth.

6. A weight bearing floor unit comprising a series of parallel hollowbeams structurally closed in cross section and composed of sheet metalof at least 18 gauge, connected by horizontal webs, each beam being notless than three inches nor more than ten inches in depth, the webs beingin width less than the depth of said beams.

7. A metal flooring for a building comprising a multi-cellular metallicflooring having a plurality of cells structurally closed in crosssection and forming cooperating hollow load supporting beams,veach beambeing not less than three inches nor more than ten inches in depth, saidbeams being capable of resistmg within themselves all of the normal loadstresses to which the flobr is subjected and being spaced apart not overtwice the depth of the cells,'the width, depth, lateral spacing andthickness of the walls of said beams being correlated to impart to thestructure a section modulus of at least 1.0 inches per foot width. Intestimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

JAMES HOWARD YOUNG.

